This invention relates to machines for issuing postage stamps and in particular to machines in which stamps of any selected value can be issued.
In order to overcome disadvantages of purchasing postage stamps from a postal authority for use in mailing items, franking machines which print a postal frank indicating payment of a postage charge on the item are used by business users of the mailing system. However due to the need for security in the construction and operation of such franking machines, the machines tend to be relatively expensive and accordingly are not used by small business users. Consequently small business users are constrained to purchase and use stamps issued by the postal authority. As a result, it is necessary for a user to keep a stock of a number of different values of stamps in order to ensure that the correct value of stamps are available for application to items of various different weights. Also when the postal rates change, values which were commonly used are little used and can only be used, if the postal rates have increased in conjunction with additional stamps. Postal stamps are difficult to keep safely and recording the use of such stamps has to be carried out manually.